Minnesota Coach Ben Johnson Previews Indiana
Minnesota coach Ben Johnson appeared on "Gopher Basketball Weekly" on Tuesday to discuss his team's upcoming game against Indiana. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET from Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.
Johnson and the Gophers are last in the Big Ten standings with a 1-7 conference record and 7-11 overall. Minnesota's lone Big Ten win came on Jan. 12 at Ohio State when Dawson Garcia's 28 points and nine rebounds led the Gophers to a 70-67 win.
On the other sideline, Indiana is one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten with three-game win streak against Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State, each by at least 13 points.
Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Ben Johnson during game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Cassell Coliseum.
Lee Luther Jr.-USA TODAY Sports
Here's what Johnson said about Indiana.
On the Hoosiers' recent win streak...
Johnson: They're playing good basketball. They're working their way back to health. I think Xavier Johnson will still be out, but Race [Thompson] played a little bit last game. I think with those guys out, it gave opportunities to some of the other guys to improve and to get better and to kind of get involved and in the mix. I think you're seeing that. I think you're seeing a confident team that's now added some depth with those off the bench guys getting that game experience. I think they've kind of like flipped the switch a little bit, and again, those last two games were telling, especially the one at home versus Michigan State. They're playing with that energy and they're really good defensive team, and now they're gaining that confidence offensively and I think it starts with Trayce [Jackson-Davis.] I think he does a really good job with the developments he's taken in his game to now be a scorer and a passer to really make it tough.
On the ways Trayce Jackson-Davis has improved...
Johnson: I think just his overall feel. I think when he came in he was obviously very gifted, but he relied a lot on his athleticism to kind of flourish whereas now he still has the athleticism, but he's added the skill. He can face up and shoot a little bit. He can face up and drive you, but what he can do out of the post and becoming a passer, he makes people better. And so now, it's like you want to double-team, he's going to find the cutter. He's going to find the opposite skip, and he's willing to do that. Whereas before I thought you could kind of speed him up more. You could create some turnovers off the post, off the post crowd or post double, whereas now I really think part of his game has elevated and he's taken pride in getting guys shots and making his teammates better.
On facing Zach Edey, Hunter Dickinson and Jackson-Davis three games in a row...
Johnson: The benefit is the scouting report doesn't change drastically when you're able to face them back to back to back and your concepts defensively don't change. So with our guys, you're not confusing them. It's, 'Hey fellas, this is the same game plan we used the last couple games. Let's just get better at that and rely on that and fall back on that.' So from that standpoint, just being consistent with prepping the same way for a couple weeks definitely does help.
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